New York Guild members approve new contract at Time Inc., ending 2-year dispute with company
NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2016 – NewsGuild of New York members at Time Inc. approved a revised settlement offer by a 3-to-1 margin Thursday, ending a two-year dispute with the company.
Members overwhelmingly rejected a company offer in June, prior to a National Labor Relations Board administrative ruling that favored the company. The Guild brought the case when Time Inc. declared impasse and imposed work rules nearly two years ago. As part of the settlement, the Guild is dropping its appeal of the ruling.
Guild-covered employees, who work for Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and Money, will receive raises totaling 14 percent over the term of the contract, which ends March 31, 2019, a year longer than Time Inc. offered in June. Additionally, all bargaining unit employees will receive a $2,500 signing bonus.
The contract, approved through in-person and email voting nationwide, strengthens certain job protections. It also entitles employees who are laid off in certain cases – such as subcontracting, out-of-seniority layoffs or layoffs conducted without first seeking volunteers – to receive an extra week of severance pay for each year of service.
Members of the Guild bargaining committee were unanimous in recommending approval of the deal, despite voicing strong opposition to parts of it. In particular, they objected to changes in language related to using non-Guild employees to do Guild-covered work, and that permits extended use of temps and interns.
Guild members are committed to extending contract protections and benefits to digital staffers – who are not represented – when they are assigned to print duties. The contract specifies that digital employees who spend more than 30 percent of their time on print work will be covered by the Guild contract.
The NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, represents nearly 3,000 journalists and other employees at New York area-based news organizations and other companies, including The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, Time Inc., Consumer Reports and The Daily Beast.